Sistema Aotearoa wraps its first year in a musical bow

The children of Sistema
Aotearoa attended a very special concert this afternoon –
their own.

After just seven months of music lessons, 96
Sistema Aotearoa pupils, drawn from seven primary schools in
Otara, gave their final concert of the year to an audience
of approximately 600 at TelstraClear Pacific Events Centre,
Manukau.

The concert was the culmination of hours of hard
work and practise by the children and the Sistema Aotearoa
tutor team, led by Programme Director Dr Joe
Harrop.

“I’m proud of the children,” Dr Harrop said.
“Many of the young people on stage had never seen a violin
or cello seven months ago, and certainly none of them had
ever played one. Now they’ve performed a concert in front
of hundreds of people at a major venue; they’ve come a
long way in such a short time. More importantly, you can see
how their confidence has grown over that period. The El
Sistema model is not only about producing great musicians,
it’s also about equipping children with life skills that
will serve them in the years to come.”

Family, friends
and VIPs enjoyed a selection of pieces, some written
specially for Sistema Aotearoa and others imported from
Sistema programmes around the world. One of the children’s
favourites, ‘The Open String Song’, was developed in
Venezuela, translated into English and introduced to Otara
earlier this year by tutors visiting from Sistema
Scotland.

That spirit of collaboration is a mark of the El
Sistema approach – Sistema Aotearoa is itself a
partnership between Auckland Philharmonia Orchestra (APO)
and the Ministry for Culture & Heritage.

The APO’s Chief
Executive, Barbara Glaser, paid tribute to the many people
and organisations that contributed to the success of the
concert.

“First of all, I’d like to congratulate the
children for putting on a great show. To perform this music
in this hall to this many people is an achievement they will
remember for the rest of their lives. Congratulations, too,
to Joe Harrop and his fabulous team, who have worked
tirelessly for the first seven months of Sistema
Aotearoa.

“As well as our government funding, we’ve
received much-appreciated donations from organisations and
individuals – many of the instruments the children played
today have been gifted or loaned to us, and we thank
everyone for their generosity.

“Most of all I’d like
to thank the people of Otara. An initiative like Sistema
Aotearoa can only exist with the support of the community,
and the impressive size of today’s audience is testament
to how Otara has embraced this programme. We know the people
who have travelled here to watch and listen are as proud of
the children as we are.”

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